Under the Rainbow

Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
Kermit The Frog sat on a lily pad in a swamp and sang this song back in ‘79. Every once in a while, it becomes an ear-worm for me (can’t get it out of my head), though not as bad as Over the Rainbow. If happy little bluebirds fly; They’re in my head, why won’t they die, and freeee me?
One thing that really surprised me as I researched rainbows is that not every culture sees them as a blessing. A number of them see rainbows as giant, demonic snakes. They will make their kids go inside and forbid them to even look at them. Where we enjoy thrilling beauty, they go hide in the closet! I’m glad to have a different perspective, aren’t you?
I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. Genesis 9:13
What started me thinking about this was a quote I saw stating that the six or seven colors we associate with rainbows - Red and Orange, Yellow and Green, Blue and Purple, too (I can sing a Rainbow, can you?) - are a drop in the bucket when compared to the million or so that are also there but we can’t see. Which means we could be (actually are) immersed totally in light all the time, and perceive that we are in darkness, simply because we aren’t equipped to “see the light”. Infrared, ultraviolet, and who knows how many more. Actually, I know Who knows:
1 Timothy 6:16 [He] alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
It’s a good thing we have Someone to open our eyes to what we’ve been missing, isn’t it?
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
He is our “rainbow connection”, the full spectrum of all the Light that is. He is the fulfillment of the Covenant that marks the end of Death and the start of Life, revealing what cannot be seen otherwise, ALL the colors, and much, much more!
Hebrews 7:25 Therefore, [Jesus] is always able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.

Put Them Off

But now you must put them all off: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Colossians 3:8
There is a legendary story in my family, and if I have anything to do with it (hint: I DO), it will become ever more legendary as time goes on. It goes back to the olden days, when my first born child - let’s call her “Gary" to protect her anonymity - was only about a month and a half old. At the time, we were living in Fort Worth, and I had just changed jobs so I had no vacation time. We were desperate to take our newborn “home” to show her off to the grandparents and siblings, so, being young enough to physically pull this off, we pulled an all-nighter.
I worked all that day, got home about 5 pm, showered, loaded the car, and set off for Grandma’s house, about a 13 hour drive. Oh, and there was a record-setting cold snap that year that left all the gas-station restrooms (and not a few restaurants) frozen solid, making pit-stops a bit difficult. Mississippi and Louisiana are still not ready for single digit temperatures, and I doubt they ever will be.
Anyway, around about 3 am, I began to notice evidence that a diaper change was in order. You know the signs: eyes begin to water uncontrollably, the hairs in your nostrils spontaneously combust, oxygen masks drop from the ceiling. When we finally got to an exit, she was practically swimming - quite happily - in her, um, car seat. Immediately, with all hands on deck, we assaulted the problem using every baby wipe in the known world and brought peace back to our olfactory nerves, and dryness to the back seat.
The only problem remaining was what to do with her clothes.
We hemmed and hawed about it for a little while, but there was only one answer: rinse them out in a gas station bath room and put them back on her.
Ha! Only kidding! They went in to the next dumpster we found, and we never looked back. How ridiculous that would have been, knowing what those clothes had been through, reliving that desperate hour every time we put them on our precious little poop monster. It was no hardship at all to “put them off".
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3:9-10
All that sin and iniquity that you were swimming in Before Christ is at least as offensive to God as that 3 am emergency was to me. You would never consider leaving a baby in such filth, why would you do that to your spiritual self? Put off that old stuff, put on Christ’s new stuff, and leave the stench behind!

Heart Written

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9
Whenever I’m asked to do a funeral, I always want to look at a Bible owned by the deceased. You can tell a lot about a person from that. It’s been said that “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone whose life is not.” If the cover is pristine and the pages crackle as if they’d never been turned, that’s not a good sign. But what I’m really looking for is notes, underlining, and highlights. They usually tell me a great deal about someone’s faith.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to imply that if someone doesn’t mark up their Bible they are somehow not a Christian, or not faithful. Lots of kids were strictly forbidden from marking in any book (got a few of those spankings my own self), and that’s a hard barrier to cross. One way around that is to keep a ledger of Bible readings and especially those times when God speaks deeply to your heart from His Word. That’s a treasure beyond compare to your heirs, as they discover things about your walk of faith and your prayer life that they might not have otherwise known.
Trouble is, for a while now I’ve been using electronic Bibles for study. It’s possible to highlight text, but I don’t find myself using it in the same way, and electronic devices can fail leaving you with only your memories (and a fair amount of anguish). Which made me think of Hansel and Gretel.
Not the gingerbread house or the witch who was going to eat them, but the trail of bread crumbs - easy to leave, hard to keep safe. When you get right down to it, even marking a physical Bible has its risks. They can get lost or damaged or be inaccessible, inconvenient to carry around.
That’s why God says to write them on your heart.
I know, I know: “I have trouble remember-izing stuff. It’s hard!” Sure it is, which helps make it more precious when you discipline yourself to do it. Plus (and this should be a big bonus to those of us approaching Old Timers) memorizing Scripture (putting your mind to work) may actually help stave off dementia. Not to mention, if it’s in our hearts it’s easier to find when we need it. And we will need it in this fallen world!
I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11

Kintsugi

For in‭ [‬Christ‭] ‬all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,‭ ‬and you are complete in him,‭ ‬who is the head of all principality and power‭; ‬Colossians‭ ‬2:9-10
Kintsugi.‭ ‬If you say it with accent on the second syllable‭ ‬-‭ ‬kint SU gi‭ ‬-‭ ‬it sounds like a sneeze,‭ ‬especially if you’re using your bad Japanese accent.‭ ‬But it actually has nothing to do with sneezing,‭ ‬although it is Japanese.‭ ‬It means‭ “‬golden seams‭”‬,‭ ‬and it refers to the practice of taking a broken ceramic pot or vase,‭ ‬and repairing it using a lacquer mixed with gold.‭ ‬In the end result,‭ ‬you see the flaws,‭ ‬but they have been gloriously elevated,‭ ‬and they raise the value of the pot far beyond the value of the gold added.
Legend has it that a Japanese shogun of‭ ‬4‭ ‬or‭ ‬5‭ ‬hundred years ago had a favorite china tea bowl that had been broken.‭ ‬He sent it to his next door neighbor‭ (‬China,‭ ‬of course‭) ‬for repairs,‭ ‬but when it came back it was put together with ugly‭ ‬-‭ ‬and I’m guessing not too functional‭ ‬-‭ ‬staples.‭ ‬His craftsmen said,‭ “‬We can do better than that‭!”‬,‭ ‬and the result was a new art form,‭ ‬taking what was broken,‭ ‬even ruined,‭ ‬and making it more precious than ever.‭ ‬It got to be so popular that many were accused of breaking pots just so they could fix them up.‭ ‬They weren’t interested in hiding the flaws,‭ ‬but celebrating the recovery of the vessel.‭
We are all fragile vessels,‭ ‬living in a dangerous,‭ ‬sharp-cornered,‭ ‬hard-surfaced world.‭ ‬To live is to be broken,‭ ‬and we spend a lot of time trying to cover up our wounds.‭ ‬Most of us aren’t exactly thrilled when our shortcomings come to light,‭ ‬so there’s always a huge market for toupees and hair plugs and girdles and makeup and the corresponding psychological spackle from self-help gurus.‭ ‬Of course,‭ ‬that’s a lot more like fixing broken vessels with wax than‭ “‬kintsugi‭"‬.‭
‬Wax‭? Also according to legend,‭ ‬when ancient Romans were putting statues all over the place,‭ ‬unscrupulous vendors would make them out of flawed marble and fill the bad parts with‭ ‬"cera‭" (‬wax‭)‬.‭ ‬They could make it look good,‭ ‬until the weather hit it.‭ ‬Furious Italians then began to demand written money-back guarantees that their new statues were‭ ‬"sine cera‭" ‬-‭ ‬Without Wax‭ ‬-‭ ‬which became our word‭ “‬sincere‭”‬.
Looks to me like the Japanese came closer to godliness with their invention.
When someone comes to Christ,‭ ‬He begins to heal their broken places.‭ ‬He doesn’t do it with medicine,‭ ‬or religion,‭ ‬or philosophy,‭ ‬He does it with Himself.‭ ‬He fills those wounds,‭ ‬transforming the Ugly into the Beautiful,‭ ‬the Worthless into the Priceless.‭ ‬Feeling the pain and strain of a busted up life‭? ‬Call on Jesus,‭ ‬because He’s the only Craftsman who makes you complete.
But he said to me,‭ “‬My grace is enough for you,‭ ‬for my power is made perfect in weakness.‭” ‬So then,‭ ‬I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses,‭ ‬so that the power of Christ may reside in me.‭ ‬2‭ ‬Cor.‭ ‬12:9

Revved Up!

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isa 40:30-31
This has got to be one of the most favorite of “favorite Bible Verses” there is. Sure, we always get John 3:16, Romans 8:28, and Psalm 23, too, but this one is right up there with them. Like many of the best, it has an enduring quality that speaks to us at different times in our lives and in different ways depending on our needs of the moment.
A friend of mine has noticed that a lot of people who “favorite” this passage treat the word “wait” like a command to “do nothing”. Some say they don’t want to get ahead of the Lord, some don’t know what to do so they just sit there, and some use it as an excuse to put off the Lord’s business for “some more convenient season”. But the word actually has a little more to it than that.
Have you ever noticed the difference between a car sitting at a red light, and a car waiting for the flag to drop? A high school buddy of mine had a fast car, and a lot of guys would come around to test themselves against him. When they were parked side by side (after the trash had been talked), they weren’t in low idle. They were standing on the brakes AND on the gas, “revving” up to the max, spinning tires in EXPECTATION (yes, to “wait" also means “to expect” - I wouldn’t leave you hanging) of the flag-drop.
In other words, you can “wait on the Lord” on idle in stately leisure, or you can “wait on the Lord” revved up and rarin’ to go. Which do you figure is more likely to get you the green light? Here’s a little hint:
And we urge you, brothers, warn the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 1 Thess 5:14

The Admirers

John 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.
Jesus has always had admirers. It’s not hard to understand why. There was all that healing and demon-casting-out. Way better than Blue Cross - and ESPECIALLY better than so-called Obamacare - no premiums to pay! Then there was His tendency to poke holes in the egos of stuffy religious people. We all love it when the pretentious are taken down a peg. And of course, He was Super Caterer, able to feed whole multitudes with a single lunch.
So they gladly came and listened. Especially for the dinner gong. But Jesus didn’t come to be the Proprietor of the Free Lunch Counter.
Matt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord! ’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.
In our zeal to get the truth across that “It doesn’t matter what you’ve DONE, you can be saved,” we let some folks get the idea, “It doesn’t matter what you DO after you’re saved.” We need to remind ourselves that what we do after we come to Christ is vital, if we want to be found in Him.
James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Now before you go off thinking I’ve given up my Grace Card and am ready to preach salvation by works, let me put it this way. You neither “get saved” nor “keep saved” on your own, for without Him we can do nothing. But a lot of admirers of Jesus didn’t stick with Jesus.
John 6:66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
But those who did stick changed the world.
Don’t be a “fan” of Jesus, be a Follower, and hold firm in the faith till the End.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Saving Daylight

Joshua 10:12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
I have harped on my unfettered disgust with so-called “Daylight Savings” before. I love the poster I’ve seen showing an elder Native American responding to someone trying to explain the time change to him: “Only the government would believe you can make a blanket longer by cutting a foot off one end and sewing it to the other." Honestly, I don’t care what time they set our clocks to, just LEAVE IT THAT WAY! And those goofs who insist that it must be a good idea because Ben Franklin thought of it probably don’t understand why the chicken crossed the road or what you mean by “Knock knock”. It was a joke, people! Unlike what Joshua did.
He wasn’t kidding at all. Right out there in front of God and everybody (ha!), he put in his request for a little more daylight. I’ve heard a few arguments over what that meant, from the moronic - “The Sun doesn’t move, so this is bogus!" (If you’ve ever said “sunrise" or “sunset" you’ve used the same metaphor with the same level of scientific accuracy.) to the academic - “Do you have any idea what catastrophes would be caused by the earth stopping in its orbit?" (The God who can create the Universe can handle the Pause button without messing it up, and if you doubt that your “god” is too small.) to the sensational - “NASA Discovered A Missing Day!" (No, they didn’t. Stop reading those scandal sheets at the checkout line or believing and forwarding those cheesy emails. Please!)
Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day.
I hold a high view of Scripture. I believe that it is the literal Word of God, Truth Without Mixture of Error. And I actually am able to recognize “figures of speech” when I see them.
What gets me in the debates over passages like this is what is missed in the sound and fury: Joshua believed. He had FAITH in a God Who Is Able. That’s where I stand, and where I recommend you stand. It’s the only solid foundation, after all. And what a hoot it’s going to be when our Faith becomes Sight and all our earnest, burning questions are revealed in the Light of Eternity! Daylight Savings? Pthththt.
Isaiah 60:20 Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not fade; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will be over.

When “Oops” Is Not Enough

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. James 3:2
I have never claimed to be a perfect man. Sometimes I stumble in ways that actually hurt others. Did you ever say something you shouldn’t have, and it hurt someone without your intent? I have.
Matter of fact, I just did last week.
Flip Wilson used to have his character “Geraldine” say “The Devil made me do it!” I really don’t want to give Ol’ Scratch too much credit. If he had a hand in it, so did I.
I’ve spent the intervening hours feeling bad about it and smacking myself in the forehead - which doesn’t help the one I offended. Nor does it help me, other than a renewed desire to more strongly discipline myself against future failures. I’ve played the scene over a few thousand times in my head, thinking of all the ways I could have had that conversation without wounding. There were quite a few, in fact. Many ways to bless, but out of my mouth came the opposite.
I usually keep a pretty close watch on what I say, but I have spent a lot of years loving “wise-cracks”, and sometimes they sneak out of mouth when I’m not being careful enough. There’s nothing “wise” about them, but they can - and do - cause cracks in relationships.
I’m not excusing, just explaining. I tell you the truth, if I could backtrack and stop myself from saying that stupid thing, I would. Next best thing is to keep a guard over my tongue to prevent future outrages. Did you know the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body? I thought you might.
The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. Placed among the parts of our bodies, the tongue contaminates the whole body and sets on fire the course of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. James 3:6
And then there’s this:
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matt 12:36-37
Oops is not enough. The power of words to harm is something God takes seriously - and He expects us to as well. I wish I had something clever or funny to say here, but I can’t think of anything. So, learn from my mistake. Use your words to build and heal, and not to wound. Aim for perfection in your conversation. You’ll be glad you did!

A Smart Woman Thought of That

“Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!” Prov 31:29
It’s kind of a family joke, every time we see some clever gadget we say, “I bet a smart woman thought of that." It’s because of my mother-in-law. She said it all the time, especially if it was something practical, functional, and pretty. There’s actually a pretty long list of things that are linked to a woman’s ingenuity - and probably an even longer list of things ostensibly invented by men but inspired by the women in their life. Here’s a few of the first kind.
Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper in 1903. She was inspired by street car drivers who had to reach around and wipe their windshields with a rag. She soon patented a device they could mount on the roof and operate by hand from the inside. Imagine that, keeping dry while improving safety! Thanks, Mary.
And the next time you see a paper bag, remember Margaret Knight, who invented the machine that gives paper bags square bottoms in 1871. And while we re-use our little plastic bags in a lot of ways, there were a lot of uses for the paper ones that they just aren’t handy for, like covering school books and making kites and party hats - also designed by women.
I don’t want to leave out Ruth Wakefield, who in a happy accident invented chocolate chip cookies at the Toll House Inn. Let me just say, “Mmmm-mmm-MM!"
Then there was secretary Bette Nesmith Graham, who often had to retype whole pages because of one little typo. After watching some painters at work one day, she got the inspiration for Liquid Paper, getting a patent in 1956. Last time I checked, it was one of the more expensive fluids on the planet at $198 a gallon, and while it may end up going the way of the buggy whip, it was handy while it lasted.
And we could go on and on. Actress Hedy Lamar, who co-invented a wireless technology before WWII that is foundational to our modern cell phone, Stephanie Kwoleck, who invented Kevlar for bullet-proof vests, Marie Curie, whose work with radium led to many medical advances.
I happen to like smart women. I married one, fathered one, and owe my life to one, and owe a great debt to the mother of my wife, who is the inspiration of today’s column. She passed away unexpectedly January 3rd after a brief illness. She was not the kind of woman who wanted tearful accolades at her funeral, but she would want you to know one special thing about her that carried her through the crises of her life, her faith.
...Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day. 2 Tim 1:12
She carried that verse printed on a card in her wallet. It was a reminder to her that she was trusting in Someone who had her best interests at heart, and a word to us that we can know Him and trust Him, too. Learn from Jane, because she was a smart woman, and anyone she trusted deserved it.